The Third Yangtze River GrandComprehensiveProtection Judicial Forum, co-hosted by the Hubei High People’s Court and Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL), among others, was held in Wuhan, Hubei Province, from November 23rd to 24th. During the opening ceremony, various delegates including Wang Linhu, Member of the Standing Committee of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee for Political and Legal Affairs; Wang Qijiang,Member of Party Leadership Group andVice President of the China Law Society; Liu Dongshun,Secretary of Party Leadership GroupandDirector of the Changjiang Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources; Jia Yu, Secretary of Party Leadership GroupandPresident of the Shanghai High People’s Court; Xia Daohu,Secretary of Party Leadership GroupandPresident of the Jiangsu High People’s Court; Wang Shou’an, Chief Procurator of the Hubei Provincial People’s Procuratorate; Soliyan Wichirakan, Director of the Mekong Institute in Thailand; and Zhu Fangwei, President of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. The opening ceremony was presided over by You Quanrong,Secretary of Party Leadership Group andPresident of the Hubei High People’s Court.
Zhu Fangwei pointed out in his speech that the Yangtze River basin serves as an important ecological security guard and a vital support for economic and social development in China. Strengthening judicial protection of the ecological environment in the Yangtze River basin is essential for the overall national development. It is a significant measure to implement Xi Jinping ’s thoughts on ecological civilization and the rule of law as well as a necessary requirement for advancing the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. As a renowned center for legal research and education, ZUEL has attached great importance to the study of environmental justice. ZUEL has jointly established the Research Base for the Rule of Law in Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality with the Hubei High People’s Court and China Carbon Registry& Clearing(CRC) and the Yangtze River Protection Judicial Theory Research Base with the Wuhan Maritime Court, providing strong intellectual support for legislative, law enforcement and judicial activities for the protection of the Yangtze River, and providing Zhongnan University of Economics and Law’s approaches to safeguarding the clear waters flowing eastward along the Yangtze River and boosting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Moving forward, ZUEL will step up investment to establish a Yangtze River Law-related database and case repository underpinning the implementation of the Yangtze River Protection Law. ZUEL will also deepen collaboration with party and government agencies, as well as enterprises and institutions across the provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Basin, striving to build a collaborative innovation platform that integrates government, industry, academia, research and application. Together, ZUEL aims to make new and greater contributions to the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. ZUEL looks forward to exploring new paths and initiatives for judicial protection of the Yangtze River with all the distinguished guests at this forum, injecting fresh momentum into the protection of the Yangtze.
Liu Renshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice-principal of the school, persided over the keynote speech of the forum. Lu Zhongmei, member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, deputy director of the Environmental and Resource Protection Committee, vice president of China Law Science Association, president of the Environmental and Resources Law Research Association, Jiang Bixin, deputy director of the Advisory Committee of the Supreme People’s Court and vice president of the China Law Science Association, Wang Liming, vice president of the China Law Science Association, president of the Civil Law Research Association, and first-class professor of the School of Law of Renmin University of China, Liu Xiaofei, vice president of the Environmental Resources Trial Chamber of the Supreme People’s Court, Ostuka Naoku, professor of the Faculty of Law of Waseda University in Japan and president of the Japanese Society of Environmental Law Policy, Stefan Gruber, professor of the School of Law of Wuhan University, etc., exchanged experiences and discussed the future concerning the rule of law thinking, legal countermeasures and judicial practice in the protection of the Yangtze River.
Writer： Mou Tong